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On its own, Batwoman #0 is a very good book. W. Haden Blackman and J. H. Williams III do a superb job of not only making this introductory issue new reader friendly but also interesting enough that existing fans would be entertained rather than bored. Futhermore, the split level story telling technique showed that these creators have enough respect for their fans and their craft to provide an intersting technique, even in a "trhow away" comic.

The art is nothing short of phenomenal, and is worth the cover price alone.

That being said, I probably won't be buying #1. I have tried Batwoman comics many times, and its not the writing, art, or even the character that I do not enjoy, its the story. The reason #0 was enjoyable was because we saw everything through Batman's eyes and didn't have to hear too much about the Cult of Crime and all that comes with it. For whatever reason, I jsut can't get into that group as her primary antagonist.

For anyone who has read and liked previous Batwoman books, you should enjoy this, and for new readers, if you like #0, try #1 in February and tell me how it is.

BATWOMAN #0 is a very inventive book. I love the way that Williams and Blackman divide the story in two, focusing on Batman's investigation of Batwoman and revealing Batman's biographical notes on Kate Kane simultaneously. I also love the way Williams draws the investigation sequences across the top half of the pages and Reeder draws the Kane backstory on the bottom half of the pages. What a smart way to introduce a character to new readers and still provide fanboys with enough hard-hitting, high-kicking, karate-chopping bang for their buck.

Williams' art is so incredible that it makes this book a worthwhile purchase, even if you don't give a damn about the title character. (I don't.) Amazingly, Reeder's art holds up well beside Williams' illustrations and is never visually jarring. This is quite the achievement because all too often books by multiple artists are notoriously inconsistent (just think of Image United).

BATWOMAN #0, with its visual flair and multilayered narrative, pulls off a lot of interesting creative moves in very few pages. If only more superhero books were this efficient and imaginative.

Batwoman #0 serves as an interesting introduction to Batwoman. While it serves to introduce the character of Batwoman to new readers as well as establish the new creative team, it does awfully little else, which is typical for a 16 page comic.

Using the recently returned Bruce Wayne as our narrator, readers are reintroduced to Batwoman. J H Williams nicely sums up her current status quo and supporting players and gives both Bruce and Kate some nice character moments. The heartening thing about the writing is that Williams (and his co-writer) seem to understand the detective in Bruce Wayne. He falls into multiple disguises, spying and testing Kate discretely. The bad thing is that the writers didn't show that they'd be able to follow up on Rucka's superlative job of fleshing out Batwoman as a three-dimensional character. Batwoman #0's story is cute, but it doesn't exactly dissuade doubts that J H Williams will fall into the "Tony Daniel" trap of being unable to both write and draw a Bat book.

However, J H Williams still shows that he's still the master of layouts, even when he's sharing the book with another artist. With his scenes focusing on Batwoman and artist Amy Reeder drawing scenes featuring Kate in her civilian identity, we're given a strong fusion of two unlike artists. Once again, the weakness in this set-up is that Reeder has no opportunity to draw Batwoman in her outfit or show that she's up to the task of at least holding the line when she's on art duties.

Williams and Reeder provide a fun first look at their upcoming series. Does it sway any worries about the book? No. But at the same time, it also doesn't add new doubts about the book either. Story: 7Art: 8.5Overall: 7.75